House Bill 1531 (PDF), introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates on February 16, 2006, would, if enacted, establish the "Teachers Academic Freedom Act" and the "Faculty Academic Freedom Act" in order to "expressly protect the right of teachers identified by the United States Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard ...

The Ohio Board of Education voted 11-4 at its February 14, 2006, meeting to remove both the "Critical Analysis of Evolution" model lesson plan and the corresponding indicator -- which called for students to be able to "describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory" -- in the state standards.

House Bill 1388 has died quietly in the Indiana legislature. Introduced on January 12 and referred to the Committee on Education, the bill died when the deadline for action by the full House passed in early February. HB 1388 was authored by Rep. Bruce Borders, who had previously announced support for teaching "intelligent design" in public schools.

February 16, 2006, is the third anniversary of the public unveiling of NCSE's Project Steve, so it seems like a good time to announce -- with due apologies to the Reverend Pat Robertson and the Christian Broadcasting Network -- NCSE's 700 Club. Yes, with the addition of Stephen A.